Rookie Dish: Buchholz Doubles Twice

Billings second baseman Alex Buchholz (Reds) continues to mash Pioneer League pitching. The sixth-round pick out of Delaare went 3-for-5 with two doubles to raise his average to .429.

Prospect Nuggets

Like the New York-Penn League, the Pioneer League also saw a no-hitter on Monday. Missoula RHPs Miles Reagan, Jesse Orosco and Bryan Shaw (Diamondbacks) combined to no-hit Helena. Despite Monday’s game, none of the three pitchers has an ERA below 5.00 on the season. . . . It may be a few days before the Fourth of July, but Elizabethton had plenty of offensive fireworks on Monday. Playing a doubleheader, the Twins routed Burlington twice, by scores of 12-0 and 11-1. In the first game the Twins were led by leadoff hitter and LF Dominic de la Osa (Twins) and his 3-for-5 day. The 11th-round pick out of Vanderbilt had a pair of doubles and two RBIs in the first game. The nightcap was punctuated by Elizabethton C Alexander Soto’s (Twins) four-RBI night. Soto ripped his fifth home run of the season in going 2-for-4. . . . Elizabethton RHP Bobby Lanigan (Twins), a third rounder out of Adelphi, picked up his first professional win in the nightcap. He threw five innings, allowing one run on one hit and a walk, while striking out two. . . . The Tim Beckham (Rays) Show went on the road to Greeneville last night, where the top overall pick went 1-for-4 with a walk, raising his average to .176 on the year. Beckham, playing shortstop, made his second error of the year on a sixth-inning misplay. . . . GCL Phillies RF Zach Collier (Phillies) made good use of his first professional at-bat. Inserted into the game as a defensive replacement, Collier ripped a double in the eighth inning in his only at-bat of the game. The Phillies’ supplemental first-round pick then went on to score the go-ahead run in a 1-0 win over the GCL Tigers. . . . GCL Braves RHP Zeke Spruill (Braves) picked up his first professional win, defeating the Yankees 10-3. Spruill, the Braves second-round pick, went five innings, scattering three hits and allowing no earned runs. . . . GCL Twins CF Aaron Hicks (Twins), the 14th overall pick, had his first professional double in a 6-3 win against the GCL Orioles. Hicks went 2-for-4 on the day with a RBI and walk.

What To Watch For Today

Billings will play its home opener in brand new Dehler Park, against Great Falls. In a match-up of fifth-round righthanders from this year’s draft, Dan Hudson (White Sox) and Clayton Shunick (Reds) go head-to-head. Cobb Field, where Billings had previously called home, was built in 1932, renovated in 1948 and demolished last fall.